


Sea Breeze and Starlight

by TooGoodToBeBad



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route, Mentioned Blue Lions Students (Fire Emblem), Mutual Pining, Post-Blue Lions Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Post-Game(s), does this have a plot?, just a whole lot of standing on a beach and talking, the tags spoil everything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:35:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26632219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TooGoodToBeBad/pseuds/TooGoodToBeBad
Summary: “It really makes you think, huh?” he looked at her with a dreamy expression on his face. “This whole ‘wedding’ thing.”“In what way?” she turned her head to him and willed her heart to steady itself at the sight of starlight dancing against his features.“The whole ‘settling down’ part. You got that figured out yet?”She frowned. “Honestly, I’m just hoping my father finds me a halfway decent suitor or none at all. What about you?”“My old man wants me to settle down soon, I think.”With a wedding comes thoughts of the future, and the fear that comes with it.
Relationships: Ingrid Brandl Galatea/Sylvain Jose Gautier
Comments: 8
Kudos: 25





	Sea Breeze and Starlight

As the sea breeze filled her lungs, the unfamiliar feeling of peace rushed over her. She stood at the edge of the shore, staring out against the vast darkness of the ocean while the waves lapped lazily around her ankles. A glance at the night sky filled her vision with hundreds of stars blinking in the moonlight. The rush of sand being pulled in by the tide almost tickled at her feet in a way the beaches of Faerghus never did.

The waters of Faerghus were always frigid and violent, with roaring waves that could knock a man down and drag him back into its briny depths. In contrast, the waters of Brigid were warm and gentle. Ashe had mentioned something about a cove and how it meant the waves weren’t as strong, but she was too entranced by the tender lull of the ocean to remember what exactly he said.

She could hear the shifting sands behind her, and she tore her gaze away from the sky to look over her shoulder. Her heart fluttered in her chest when she turned and saw Sylvain standing at the shore, his crimson hair tousled by the sea breeze and his brown eyes bathed in moonlight.

“Hey, Ingrid,” he smiled widely at her before slipping off his shoes and making his way beside her. “Thank the Goddess shorts are fancywear here in Brigid. I hate the feel of wet pants against my ankles.”

She chuckled at his words and smiled back at him. “What are you doing out here?”

“I could ask the same of you,” he grinned as the collar of his linen shirt rustled around his neck. “I’d have thought you’d still be inside; they brought out another roasted pig.”

“I just needed some fresh air.”

“Same.”

For a while the two of them stood there, feet in the sand as the warm waters of the ocean splashed around them. From behind them, the hustle and bustle of a wedding reception broke the silence.

“You know,” she said suddenly, “never in a million years did I ever expect that Ashe would be the first among us to get married after Dimitri.”

He laughed at that. “The only reason Ashe got married first is because Felix doesn’t know how to have an actual conversation with people. If he knew even the slightest thing about talking to girls, he and Annette would’ve already been married before we even won the war.”

She let out a decidedly unladylike snort. “The two of them, they’re such an odd pair, but they’re just right for each other,” her voice softened.

“Must be nice,” Sylvain hummed nonchalantly.

“Mhmm,” she nodded. She could feel her blonde hair being blown about by the gentle breeze while her ankles were tickled by the sand. All the while, her heart thumped louder in her chest from being so close to him.

“Did you see the marks on Ashe’s arms?” he asked.

A wide grin plastered itself on her face as she remembered her conversation with him. “Yeah, he showed me yesterday. And they mean something beautiful.”

“Aren’t they written in Brigid’s language?”

“They are, but they’re actually quotes from stories,” her grin widened and her emerald eyes crinkled at the corners. The marks themselves were beautifully done, vibrantly violet against his fair skin. They resembled bands that circled his forearms like bracelets, constructed with the dots and strange geometry of Brigid’s language. “The one on his left arm is an excerpt from _Loog and the Maiden of Wind_. ‘’Seek honor as you act, and you will know no fear.’ And the one on the other arm is from _The Sword of Kyphon_. ‘From all these things, I shall not stray.’”

“Ahh,” he clicked his tongue and gave her a sly smirk. “I could never forget how much you two read. Tell me,” his voice lowered into something dangerously devious, “how jealous are you of Petra?”

Something warm creeped across her cheeks as she laughed and playfully smacked his shoulder. “Shut up! That was nothing.”

“Was it?” he raised an impish eyebrow. “I remember you wouldn’t stop talking about when you two danced at the Ball together. _You_ taught him to dance, remember?”

“I got over that,” she huffed indignantly, a smile still on her face. “That was just a schoolgirl crush. But I’m happy for him and Petra; I really am.”

“Not everyone gets to marry a queen. I’d have jumped at the chance,” he grinned at her. “Leave it to Ashe to outrank nearly all of us now.”

Despite the warmth of Brigid’s air, a faint shiver ran through her, and she nervously ran her hands against the skirt of her seagreen cotton dress, trying to stop her heart from swooping from being inches away from him. 

She hadn’t known when it started - when she’d started seeing him in _that_ light. Sure, he’d always been handsome and more or less reliable, but somewhere along the way, he’d gone from someone she liked having around to someone she needed to have around. Around him, the world seemed so much brighter, and her soul so much more free. His presence reassured her like no one else’s, but with the war over and the future looming over them, she could very much lose the one person she’d clung to the most. A quick and deliberate bite to her tongue sent her back to reality.

“It really makes you think, huh?” he looked at her with a dreamy expression on his face. “This whole ‘wedding’ thing.”

“In what way?” she turned her head to him and willed her heart to steady itself at the sight of starlight dancing against his features.

“The whole ‘settling down’ part. You got that figured out yet?”

She frowned. “Honestly, I’m just hoping my father finds me a halfway decent suitor or none at all. What about you?”

“My old man wants me to settle down soon, I think.”

“Did you…” she fought to keep a hopelessly hopeful tinge from her voice. “Did you have someone in mind?”

“Hmm? Yeah, I’ve got someone in mind,” he turned his gaze towards the horizon.

“Oh, I see,” she said flatly as her chest began to ache and a sickly feeling of longing caught in her throat. “What’s she like?”

The corners of his lips turned up in a soft, sincere smile. “She’s amazing. This girl means the world to me. She’s fearless, she’s charming, and she’s beautiful. She deserves the world and so much more, but I don’t know if I can give it to her,” he sighed gently before clasping his hands behind his neck. “I haven’t really been a good person for most of my life, and she deserves someone so much better than me.”

She swallowed nervously, trying to push back the cloying ache in her throat. He turned to meet her gaze, and she could feel her shoulders tighten and her fingers curl up into fists in the soft fabric of her skirt.

“She sees right through me, and I let her,” he chuckled. “But honestly, I’m really scared to tell her how I feel.”

The word forced its way out of her lungs. “Why?”

He shrugged way too nonchalantly for what Ingrid felt was an absolutely serious matter. “I don’t know if she feels the same way. I’d hate to lose her.”

 _You and I both_ , she thought somberly before shaking her head. “I think you should tell her.”

He blinked slowly at her words. “I really should, shouldn’t I?”

“She might feel the same, who knows?”

“Maybe you’re right. I’m glad I can talk to you about this stuff. Felix and Dimitri are hopeless,” he laughed something sweet and gentle. It sent a shiver down her spine. “Could you wish me some luck?”

A light and breathy giggle escaped her. “I wish you all the luck in the world, Sylvain,” she smiled. “And I really do hope she makes you happy.”

“Thanks, Ingrid. That really means a lot, coming from you.”

Her gaze returned to the thin line at the edge of the sea and the sky. Beside her, she could hear the sands shift again. With a heavy heart, she forced herself to keep her eyes on the horizon. Perhaps she was like the ocean, with the sky forever just out of reach. She tried to blink away the tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.

“Hey, Ingrid.”

All the air escaped her lungs and she turned to him. He seemingly hadn’t left his spot.

“Sylvain? I thought you were going to tell some absolutely amazing girl how much she means to you,” she frowned.

“I’m getting to that part,” he chuckled before taking a deep breath. “Ingrid, I’m in love with you.”

A tiny breath escaped her while the world around her started to spin much faster. Something warm wrapped itself around her fingers, and she found her hand locked in his, with a cozy, fuzzy sensation blooming through her hands at his touch. “M-me?” she stuttered, her words failing her as they threatened to spill out. “You’re for real? This whole time, you were talking about me?”

“Who else, Ingrid? Please, give yourself some credit. You’re beautiful, you’re fearless, you’re charming. You mean the world to me, and so much more.”

“I don’t know what to say,” she tried to smile at him. “Except that I love you too, Sylvain.”

His grin widened at her words. A dangerously sincere expression was written all over his face. “Can I hold you, Ingrid?”

“You could,” she hummed. “Or you could kiss me.”

When her lips collided with his, it felt _right_. His lips felt warm and soft against her own, and when he pulled away she was breathless. Another giggle escaped her and she fell into him. She felt herself wrapped up in him and the vague scent of cinnamon, and she was almost surprised to realize just how at home she felt in his arms. “You know, I feel like I have to say something to you, too,” she breathed into the crook of his neck.

“You don’t have to,” he mumbled as his fingers idly stroked her blonde hair.

“But I want to,” she pulled away and looked at him. “You’ve had my heart for quite a while now. You make me happy with your smile, your jokes, your courage, your everything. And I was scared to lose you. And when you were telling me about this girl, it broke my heart to think that you were in love with someone else.”

“It’s only ever been you, and it’ll only ever be you,” he said softly as he cupped her face with his hand.

“Hold me again?”

They stood there, wrapped in each other, the waves still brushing gently against their feet. She found herself looking up at the stars, who were smiling down at the two of them. “The stars are beautiful tonight.”

“The most beautiful stars I’ll ever see are those in your eyes.”

She scoffed at his words, but she blushed all the same. “I didn’t think you’d ever use your lines on me,” she chuckled before her eyes widened. “Are we engaged now?”

“Huh? Oh, I didn’t bring a ring with me,” he laughed. “Plus, it’s incredibly tacky to propose at your friend’s wedding. But I promise you, once we’re back in Faerghus, I’ll do something real special.”

“Anything’s special if it’s with you.”

“And I’m the one with lines?” he raised an eyebrow.

She didn’t know if she wanted to whack him or kiss him. She did both.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you guys enjoyed! Feedback and comments are appreciated.
> 
> I wanted to try my hand at this, so here you guys go. I hope it turned out alright.
> 
> And one of these days, I will seriously get around to finishing that Ashe x Petra piece. It's stopped at a conversation where Caspar says Enbarr is "hot as balls" and then quotes "The Faces of Evil." If that isn't a damning indictment of my writing then I dunno what is. 
> 
> Let it also be known that I went through dozens of Warhammer 40k proverbs to find something that Ashe could have tattooed on his arm.
> 
> Thanks again for dropping by!


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